The significance is both political and economic if the consumer
is feeling better.

Here's the full announcement from the Conference Board...

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he Conference Board Consumer Confidence
Index®, which had declined in
August, improved in September. The Index now stands at 70.3
(1985=100), up from 61.3 in August. The Expectations Index
increased to 83.7 from 71.1. The Present Situation Index rose to
50.2 from 46.5 last month.

The monthly Consumer Confidence
Survey®, based on a probability-design
random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen,
a leading global provider of information and analytics around
what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary
results was September 13.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The
Conference Board: “The Consumer Confidence Index rebounded in
September and is back to levels seen earlier this year (71.6 in
February 2012). Consumers were more positive in their assessment
of current conditions, in particular the job market, and
considerably more optimistic about the short-term outlook for
business conditions, employment and their financial situation.
Despite continuing economic uncertainty, consumers are slightly
more optimistic than they have been in several months.”

Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions improved in
September. Those claiming business conditions are “good” edged up
to 15.5 percent from 15.3 percent, while those saying business
conditions are “bad” declined to 33.3 percent from 34.3 percent.
Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was also more upbeat.
Those stating jobs are “plentiful” rose to 8.3 percent from 7.2
percent, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged down
to 39.9 percent from 40.6 percent.

Consumers were also more optimistic about the short-term outlook
in September. Those expecting business conditions to improve over
the next six months increased to 18.2 percent from 16.7 percent,
while those anticipating business conditions to worsen decreased
to 13.8 percent from 17.6 percent. Consumers’ outlook for the
labor market was also more favorable. Those expecting more jobs
in the months ahead increased to 18.5 percent from 15.8 percent,
while those anticipating fewer jobs declined to 18.5 percent from
23.7 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase
in their incomes edged up to 16.3 percent from 16.0 percent